Water Planet

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

General Paper

I've decided to dedicate one entry to General Paper in view of the Paper on Wednesday. Here are just some interesting facts that would be great for the papers!

Poverty

- The United Nations define extreme poverty as living on less than US$1 per day
- The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the poorest 48 nations is less than the wealth of the world's three richest people combined.
- The global poverty situation has slighty improved as the Asian nations ride the waves of the Chinese and Indian growth, however, the plight of the Africans and Latin Americans are declining.

Poverty is the state for the majority of the world’s people and nations. Why is this? Is it enough to blame poor people for their own predicament? Have they been lazy, made poor decisions, and been solely responsible for their plight? What about their government? Have they pursued policies that actually harm successful development?

As a result of poverty, human trafficking has become one of the ominous consequences. Young women have been coerced into prostitution and children have been recruited into guerillas and resistance troops. One example is the Baby Battalion in Sri Lanka.

War on Terror

With the backdrop of the event of September 11,the "War on Terrorism" is an American-sponsored campaign which includes political, legal, military and personal actions to curb the spread of terrorism. It authorizes use of military force against terrorists, and is the rationale for the Afghanistan War as well as the Iraq War.

However, there are differing opinions about these seemingly lofty aspiration. It has been argued that the "War on Terror" has been used to justify unilateral preemptive wars, human rights abuses as well as flagrant violations of international law.

An ongoing controversy is the treatment of the captives in the US Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp. It has been alleged that physical and psychological torture, sexual degradation anf forced drugging are committed by US forces at Guantanamo Bay.

The Bush administration had justified that these prisoners were not classified as prisoners of wars , and hence the Geneva Conventions relative to the treatment of POWs do not apply.

The Amercians are known for their hypocrisy in laudering support for democracy and human rights, yet support dictators and authoritarians who opens to their appetite. In the Afghanistan War in 1979, the Americans were known to have supported the mujahedeens (guerilla terrorists) against the Soviet supported Afghan monarchy. American aid and weapons flowed into the country and AK-47s were the common toys of Afghan chilren. And amidst these aid, the mighty American groomed, financed and armed the fateful one who became their arch enemy decades later. He is none other than Mr. Osama Bin Laden.

Science and Technology: Euthanasia

Euthanasia (good death) is the practice of ending the life of a terminally ill person in a painless or minimally painful way, for the purpose of limiting suffering. Laws around the world vary greatly with regard to euthanasia and are constantly subject to change as cultural values shift and better palliative care or treatments become available. It is legal in some nations, while in others it may be criminalized.

Euthanasia may be conducted passively, non-aggressively, and aggressively.
Passive euthanasia entails the withholding of common treatments (such as antibiotics, drugs, or surgery) or the distribution of a medication (such as morphine) to relieve pain, knowing that it may also result in death (principle of double effect). Passive euthanasia is the most accepted form, and it is a common practice in most hospitals. Non-aggressive euthanasia entails the withdrawing of life support and is more controversial. Aggressive euthanasia entails the use of lethal substances or force to kill and is the most controversial means.

Arguments for Voluntary Euthunasia:
1. Choice: Proponents of VE emphasize that choice is a fundamental principle for liberal democracies and free market systems.
2. Economic costs and human resources: Today in many countries there is a shortage of hospital space. The energy of doctors and hospital beds could be used for people whose lives could be saved instead of continuing the life of those who want to die which increases the general quality of care and shortens hospital waiting lists.

Arguments against Voluntary Euthanasia:
1. Moral: Some people consider euthanasia of some or all types to be morally unacceptable. This view usually treats euthanasia to be a type of murder and voluntary euthanasia as a type of suicide, the morality of which is the subject of active debate.
2. Consent under pressure: Given the economic grounds for voluntary euthanasia (VE), critics of VE are concerned that patients may experience psychological pressure to consent to voluntary euthanasia rather than be a financial burden on their families.

Science and Technology: Cryonics

Cryonics is the low temperature preservation of humans and other animals that can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine until resuscitation may be possible in the future. Human cryo-preservation is not currently reversible. In the United States, cryonics can only be legally performed on humans after clinical death.

Philosophical and Ethical Considerations

Ethical and theological opinions of cryonics tend to pivot on the issue of whether cryonics is regarded as interment (burial) or medicine. If cryonics is interment, then religious beliefs about death and afterlife may come into consideration.
Resuscitation may be deemed impossible by those with religious beliefs because the soul is gone, and according to most religions only God can resurrect the dead. Expensive interment is seen as a waste of resources.
If cryonics is regarded as medicine, with legal death as a mere enabling mechanism, then cryonics is a long-term coma with uncertain prognosis. It is continuing to care for sick people when others have given up, and a legitimate use of resources to sustain human life.
Cryonics advocates complain that theological dismissal of cryonics because it is interment is a circular argument because calling cryonics "interment" presumes that cryonics cannot work. They believe future technical advances will validate their view that cryonics patients are recoverable, and therefore never really dead.

Science and Technology: Second Life

Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely created by its Residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by millions of Residents from around the globe.
Second life is emerging as a powerful new alternative medium for social interactions of al sorts, from romance to making money.Started slow with only 1.5 million registered users in 2006, membership has soared to 10 million this year.

Significance
1. Computer Addiction – Increased tendency of teens in the Netherlands to spend more time on the virtual world then going to school or out to meet friends. Impeding social intimacy with the technology addiction.
2. Clinical Potential – Autistic, or socially-impaired patients are allowed a literally second life. Are henceforth able to do things otherwise unable to do in real-life such as extreme sports for the physically disabled, or interactions and socializing for the socially-disabled.
3. Virtual Education – More than 250 universities, including Harvard and MIT, now operate distance-learning programs in Second Life. Students meet in virtual classrooms to discuss history and political science. Teachers give virtual presentations, and lead virtual field trips.

mE posted at 12:55 AM